countdown to AWP

So I am in the weeds of it, books everywhere, paper flying, layouts finalized.  This week will be key in getting shit done, and I'm praying my printer and ink supplies hold up (incidently the one I used only for covers, the sticky duplexer that isn't much good for anything else is finally dying in streaky mess that all the maintenance in the world will not fix). So I'm left only with the good Epson, and it looks like maybe I'll be using some of the proceeds from AWP to get a second afterwards since I like having the backup.)  Nevertheless, despite some freaking out over it's death throes and a swiftly draining yellow cartridge, I have a plan for the week that should get everything wrapped up before the weekend. 

I do have next Saturday in the studio all day to finish loose ends, but Sunday my folks are coming in to kidnap the cats for a week and then Monday afternoon, I am off on my train journey.  I had initially planned to ship everything out there early, but it's looking more like a couple boxes of older books from 2013 will be shipped and the rest will be traveling with me in my enormous red suitcase.  I made the executive decision to only bring stuff from 2013/2012 since we only have half a table and way, way too many titles.  Even with only the past two years, we actually have over 50 to choose from and I wanted at least a handful of each.   Today, I've been finalizing [carriage return] which will also be debuting and making books for the readings & signings that will be occurring during the conference featuring our latest books (signings to celebrate second books from Nicole Steinberg  and Ariana-Sophia Kartsonis, as well as Laura Madeline Wiseman's third book with us)  Plus, a Thursday night reading featuring two new authors (Kimberly Ann Southwick and M. Forajter) along with 2013 poets Melissa Eleftherion and Kristin LaTour.

Otherwise, I am still battling the ceaseless winter blahs but trying to keep busy writing,  rounding out terrestrial animal (which I need to lay out and actually print this week).  Last week was similarly busy with a couple of interviews--one in person, another via e-mail, but both coming out around the corner--and other random writerly business.  I am, in a word, exhausted, and am actually looking forward to getting on that train and zoning out across several rather vast and open states for two days straight.